(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Plainspoken, economical prose traces the boxer's life from his Kentucky childhood and early amateur career, through the years he spent as heavyweight champion. Haskins's text also ably portrays Ali's personal and spiritual journeys, while Velasquez's page-dominating oil paintings offer pleasing stylistic variation, from montages and action panel sequences to double-page spreads. This new edition features a timeline updated with Ali's death in 2016.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Benny Andrews. The authors follow Lewis (a twenty-year veteran in Congress) from his student years as an aspiring minister and admirer of Martin Luther King Jr. to his leading role in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1964. The authors' spare, understated narration renders the courage of Lewis and his fellow nonviolent protestors even more telling. Andrews's expertly composed oils and fabric collages enhance the drama. Timeline.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2007

(4) K-3 Count Your Way series. Illustrated by Megan Moore. After brief introductions, the authors translate the numbers one through ten, including culturally relevant but randomly presented items: "Four women wear burkas"; "Ten wrestlers train together." Each spread includes a colorful if amateurish painting as backdrop in addition to the Arabic numeral, the numeral notation and pronunciation in Pashto (Afghanistan) or Farsi (Iran), and an explanatory paragraph. Review covers these Count Your Way titles: Count Your Way through Afghanistan and Count Your Way through Iran.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Count Your Way series. Illustrated by Farida Zaman. After brief introductions, the authors translate the numbers one through ten, including culturally relevant but randomly presented items: "Four women wear burkas"; "Ten wrestlers train together." Each spread includes a colorful if amateurish painting as backdrop in addition to the Arabic numeral, the numeral notation and pronunciation in Pashto (Afghanistan) or Farsi (Iran), and an explanatory paragraph. Review covers these Count Your Way titles: Count Your Way through Afghanistan and Count Your Way through Iran.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Count Your Way series. Illustrated by Janie Jaehyun Park. After a brief introduction to the country, the authors translate the numbers one through ten, including culturally relevant but randomly presented items: "Two favorite foods in Zimbabwe are sadza and nyama." Each spread includes a colorful if fairly amateurish painting as backdrop in addition to the Arabic numeral, its spelling and pronunciation in Shona, and an explanatory paragraph.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Black Stars series. Heroes introduces twenty-seven influential Africans from ancient times (Imhotep in 2980 B.C.E.) to the present (Kofi Annan). Millionaires profiles twenty-five wealthy African Americans from the nineteenth century to today. The brief, well-written entries mention trials and challenges as well as successes and include at least one (often poor-quality) black-and-white photo. Bib., ind. Review covers these Black Stars titles: African Heroes and African American Millionaires.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Plainspoken, economical prose traces the boxer's life from his Kentucky childhood and early amateur career, through the years he spent as heavyweight champion. Haskins's text also ably portrays Ali's personal and spiritual journeys, while Velasquez's page-dominating oil paintings offer pleasing stylistic variations, from montages and action panel sequences to double-page spreads. A timeline is included. Bib.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(4) YA This biography of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist describes Morrison's professional journey, which included a stop as an editor at Random House, and dissects the social forces that inform her work. Haskins's contextualizing history lessons never bog down the narrative, and he includes reviews by both Morrison's admirers and critics. Poorly reproduced images mar an otherwise impressive offering. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Gateway Biography series. Toni Morrison's life from her childhood through her acceptance of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993 is chronicled in four brief chapters. Background information on the civil rights movement and the history of African-American women writers allows readers to place Morrison's life in a meaningful historical context. Black-and-white and color photos are included. Ind.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(3) 4-6 The readable text profiles a number of African-American magicians, including Richard Potter, the first American-born magician, various performers who worked the minstrel and vaudeville show circuit, and contemporary figures such as David Blaine, known for his "street magic." The book contains appealing black-and-white photographs and reproductions; sidebars describe specific feats associated with individual magicians. Bib, ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Melanie Reim. A fluid text provides adequate background on Woodson: son of former slaves, historian, Harvard Ph.D., and the man who established Negro History Week, which would eventually become Black History Month. An artist's note provides information on the mural-like illustrations. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) YA Haskins examines the freed slaves' migration to the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma after Reconstruction, focusing on three leaders of these migrants. Surprisingly, the text is a somewhat dull, if informative, account of what was a significant and exciting period in the nation's westward development. Black-and-white photos and illustrations accompany the text. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Felicia Marshall. Animal apparitions and human specters haunt this collection of brief tales adapted from African-American folklore. Some are set in the slavery era, while others have a more contemporary flavor. Most of the entries read as spooky vignettes, rather than fully plotted stories, but this only increases the authenticity of the tales as examples of folk tradition. Illustrated with competent black-and-white artwork.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA Black Stars series. In an occasionally dry text, Haskins highlights the military contributions of thirty African-American men and women, from the Revolutionary War to the present. Each brief biography focuses on the military feats of the subject; boxed text provides additional information. Illustrated with poorly reproduced black-and-white photos and reproductions, the volume includes an extensive chronology. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) 4-6 This historical overview examines the African-American quest for equality in public education, from the Colonial and slave periods through today. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and reproductions, the readable text emphasizes the local legal battles, many fought during the civil rights era, that had national consequences for improving educational opportunities. A chronology is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Using archival photos and many primary documents, this engrossing book adds to the growing evidence that African Americans were highly active in their own emancipation. In addition to the now famous Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, Haskins also discusses the less well known Louisiana Native Guards--all-black state militia companies that supported the Confederacy but saw little action because southerners feared they would spy for the Union. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) YA Black Stars series. These books introduce familiar (Oprah Winfrey, George Washington Carver) and not-so-familiar (millionaire Madame C. J. Walker, realtor Philip Payton, Jr.) African Americans who have made their mark in business and science from the eighteenth century to the present. Often poorly reproduced black-and-white photos accompany the very brief biographies, but even in their brevity, the stories of hardship and success are well worth reading. Time lines are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.